Cleveland Browns: Taking Joey Bosa at No. 2 changes 2016
The Cleveland Browns must select Joey Bosa if he is available with the second overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft.
The talk surrounding the Cleveland Browns is all about the quarterback position.
With the second overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, the Browns are currently expected to take a quarterback, with the two beset options being Carson Wentz and Jared Goff.
But there is another possibility if that comes about if the Tennessee Titans decide not to draft Joey Bosa with the top overall pick.
Bosa is looking like the second coming of J.J. Watt, so if he is there at number two, the Browns have to take him.
It is no secret that the Browns defense was atrocious last season, even after drafting Danny Shelton in the first round. It is too early to call him a bust, but he will need to drastically turn things around in 2016 to prove worthy of such a high selection in 2015.
So let’s say the Titans draft someone else and the Browns take Bosa. This will seemingly make all the talk about Goff and Wentz obsolete, as they will both likely be off the board by the time the Browns pick again at No. 32.
One option is to trade down to select one of the two, but that may cost the Browns more than they are willing to give up.
An argument has been made that the Browns should avoid taking a quarterback in this draft, as it is not one filled with great talent, at least on paper at this stage.
Instead of entrusting the future of the franchise to a rookie quarterback this year, the front office can focus on bolstering the defense.
Josh McCown can start the season at quarterback with Austin Davis serving as the backup. With the return of Josh Gordon, McCown will have an elite target on a team that showed success with less talent in 2015 when he was the starter.
The quarterback position would need to be addressed next year, but taking Bosa would focus on the team’s most desperate need.
Even if the Browns drafted a quarterback who turned the team into a top-10 offense, the lack of a defense would prevent the team from making any run at the playoffs.
This type of early success would not be likely, which is why it would be better to stick with McCown or Davis as the starting quarterbac in 2016 anyway, instead of throwing millions at another rookie quarterback.
When an Andrew Luck or Cam Newton is available, the choice is a no-brainer, but that is not the case this year.
If Bosa is not selected by the Titans, he should be a Cleveland Brown in 2016. The quarterback position can be held down by McCown or Davis while the defense figures out a way to come out of the basement of the NFL.